Iowa sees big jump in home values in the past year

Due to tremendous buyer demand for homes and limited inventory, home values have significantly increased in Iowa.

Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors said in a news release that according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the rate of home value appreciation in the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s) served by Ruhl&Ruhl increased over the past five years between 18.76% and 22.6%.

The increase in the prior 12 months has been even more dramatic, ranging from 5.99% in Iowa City to 9.08% in Cedar Rapids. FHFA data always runs a quarter behind, so this increase was only through June of 2021.

Based on extremely strong third quarter sales, Ruhl & Ruhl said they anticipate values will continue to appreciate, albeit at a slower pace, through the end of this year and likely through 2022.

“We have continued to experience sizable gains across our region in home values over the last year,” said Caroline Ruhl, CEO, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors.

The increase in home values makes now a great time for sellers to sell, Ruhl&Ruhl said in the release. It’s also a good time to unlock the equity in a home with a cash-out refinance that can be used for many purposes such as home improvements, buying an investment property or paying off debt.

“During the second quarter, home prices nationally peaked in June with an 18.8% growth rate compared to a year ago,” said Dr. Lynn Fischer, deputy director of FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics. The continuing appreciation in home prices and likely increase in mortgage rates will make now the best time to buy a new home before monthly payments increase.

Information courtesy of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for the second quarter of 2021.